Jenny Lai (Ho Li Nui)
Jenny Lai (Ho Li Nui) 黎何麗女Tung Jung Association of NZ. (2019). Newsletter - Autumn 2019. 新塘 Suntong 28 November 1928—16 January 2019 Jenny was born in Suntong 新塘, then a fishing village, near Guangzhou in 1928. She grew up in the village until her teens when the Japanese invaded China. Her father was a successful boatbuilder and it was at this time that Jack Lai from New Zealand came to Jungsen looking for a wife. He spotted this girl standing on a street corner with her friend and Jack, who also had a friend with him had told Jack that he knew the family and made an introduction. Jack‘s charm and the promise of a successful life in New Zealand won over her parents who were not keen for their daughter to marry this young man. They were duly married in the village and later Jack returned to New Zealand to earn enough money to send for Jenny. Jenny was pregnant when Jack returned to New Zealand, and coming from a wealthy family, the villagers would taunt her that Jack would never send for her, so it was a tough time for her in those early years. Four years later, Jack had raised enough money to send for her and their son and arrived by flying boat into Wellington's Evans Bay from Sydney in 1953. The son Jim, was then four and a half years old. After arriving, Jack and Jenny took the plunge and rented a shop in the village suburb of Eastbourne, on the other side of Wellington Harbour. The business thrived and when the premises were offered to them, they quickly accepted and in early 1960‘s, they demolished the old building and rebuilt new premises with three shops in it. At one stage, they were running a milk bar, a fish and chip shop and a greengrocer all at the same time! Eventually, they opted to sell two of the businesses and retained the greengrocery in which the family still runs to this day. This is the longest serving business in Eastbourne, having served the locals for 65 years and now being run by three of their children, Tom, Richard and Sandra. Jack and Jenny were staunch supporters of the Tung Jung Association in their younger days and would regularly attend the various functions the Association had organised. They enjoyed going to the Paramount Theatre in Courtenay Place when Chinese movies were shown in the weekends. Jenny was also a fantastic cook, often having dinner parties for friends without using a recipe book! Playing mah-jong was also a favourite pastime and was often played into the early hours of the next morning! In 2010, Jenny suffered a stroke and Jack took on to care for her.at their Lower Hutt home. In 2015, Jack suffered a heavy fall and was not able to recover from his injuries and passed away in August 2015 at the age of 89. After Jack passed away, Jenny had friends visiting her regularly and mah jong sessions were frequent Jenny also liked to talk on the phone to friends in China and Australia. The family employed a carer for Jenny as she insisted to be at home rather than go to an institution and this carer treated Jenny as her own mother. She would cook, bathe, cut hair, massage and dance for Jenny and would take her out to Queensgate Mall in her wheelchair to catch up with friends or take her on the train to Wellington for yum cha. Jenny suffered another stroke in February 2018 and the family decided to move her to the Stokewood Rest Home in Stokes Valley. There she would chat with the staff with their concerns and was treated as one of the family. In January this year, she suffered another stroke but unfortunately was unable to recover from it. Jenny‘s funeral was held on the 22 January at the Cornwall Manor, Lower Hutt and was attended by many friends, customers and relatives. She is survived by her sons, Tom and Richard and daughters Betty, Rose and Sandra and nine grandchildren and four great grandchildren. Category:People Category:Obituary Category:Tung Jung Category:Wellington Category:1928 Category:2019 Category:Lower Hutt